Your Ideal Media Centre/ Set top Box

Johnboy1951

If you were to be involved in specifying the capabilities of a new set op box / media centre what would be your 'must-have' requirements?

Let's give the box a generous size, without overdoing it ..... everything to fit into a box of comparable size to a Sky+HD box, so regular PC sized boxes are out.

My own requirements would start with all hardware to be supported in Linux and then

Hardware
two DVB-T/2 tuners
four DVB-S/2 tuners (maybe Unicable II with virtual tuners)
2 x 1 G/b NICs.
One 2.5" SATA HDD slot

Software
Based on Linux and preferably Open Source
Backend management software for Live TV and PVR functions, including storage and management of stored media.
Backend also with capabilities for IPTV.
Capable of downloading and or torrenting etc.
Transcoding of media if necessary.
Stripping of commercials from stored media (preferably during recording)
All functions of backend available to client devices such as Tablets, smart TVs, PCs etc, on the LAN.
All software, including the OS, to be easy to upgrade or change.

Maybe a CI slot for decryption card.

Two versions .... one a server with a built in 'client device' with 4K capability and HDMI output, CEC compliant, and one without, to act only as a server to multiple client devices.


What else would your ideal device have?
There are capabilities above that I would not use today, but others would.
I am sure there are other things I have not remembered which could be included.
It would be interesting to know what others would require of their 'ideal media box'.

Dravokivich

You've got an awful lot to cram into something the size of a sky+ HD box there.

I'd rather a central hub to Store/Manage Media and have clients at the TVs connect to it.

Johnboy1951

Dravokivich wrote: »

You've got an awful lot to cram into something the size of a sky+ HD box there.

I'd rather a central hub to Store/Manage Media and have clients at the TVs connect to it.

Heck I was being generous! That Sky box is huge!